Page 92 of One Golden Summer

“You didn’t?” Kirsty asked in a tiny voice.

“No.”

“The video made you two look like love birds.”

“I’m aware. Echo is a pro when it comes to presentation.” Saffron had to suppress her anger at Echo and focus on what truly mattered. “You probably don’t know what to believe, but you said you need to move to think better. I’m going to reposition you to hit the ring. Not me. Okay? You promise not to hit me?” Saffron held her palms up in spite of Kirsty not being able to see.

Kirsty nodded.

Saffron helped her get into the proper stance. “Hit as hard as you can. Get the anger out. Like I said, pretend it’s my head. Don’t keep it bottled in.”

Kirsty whacked the fuck out of the ring. Then again. And again.

Wrapped sweets dribbled out from a tear.

Saffron whistled. “You really like smashing my skull in.”

Kirsty nudged the blindfold up. “I pictured Echo.”

“That’s a relief.” Her laughter came out shaky, like she’d been terrified Kirsty really did want to bash Saffron’s skull in.

“Why don’t you give it a go?” Kirsty’s shoulders seemed much lighter.

“Can I picture Echo?”

“If that’s who you want to hit.” Kirsty prepped Saffron, and spun her around. “One more for good measure.”

Saffron chuckled. “This really is a bizarre party tradition.”

“Okay, pard-ner,” Kirsty’s over-the-top American West impression brought a smile to Saffron’s face. “Do your best.”

Saffron’s wild stab made contact, followed by the trickle of more sweets. “Did you check out my social media accounts?”

“I did.” Kirsty kept her voice neutral.

“Did mine say anything about this week away with Echo?”

“You don’t know?” Kirsty sounded dubious.

“My team handles all that. I’ve never tweeted in my life. I don’t see the point.” Saffron swung again. “So, am I going on holiday with Echo-Fucking-Black?”

“Not according to your socials, no.”

“At least my team is listening to me.”

“Out of curiosity, what did you tell them about Echo?”

Saffron planted her feet and gave the stick a shake, prepping for a wallop. “Let’s see if you can guess from this.” She released hell.

Kirsty whooped.

Saffron hoisted the blindfold off, zeroing in on the broken ring on the ground. “Just in case you need more of an explanation, I can’t stand Echo. If I never see her again, it’d be too soon.”

“Won’t that be hard when you start the movie?”

“I’m not doing the movie.”

“You’re not?” Kirsty’s eyes widened.